Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Plundering Emotional Depths
I mentioned last week I’d gotten a rejection on a full request. It was a great rejection (only other writers realize there is such a thing) with lots of praise and lots of great advice as well as an offer to read my next stuff. Very promising, as rejections go.
Something she said really resonated with me, though. She said that my story (this is my last MS) felt more like an urban fantasy than a paranormal romance but that she felt like it should have been a paranormal romance. My first instinct was to say, of course it was a paranormal romance and not UF. But then I stopped to think that maybe there was no “of course” about it. Basically, she was saying she didn’t get the romance in my romance.
It’s no secret I’m a plotter. I know exactly what’s supposed to happen in my story. I need to. I’m not good at filling in the holes later. But I started to wonder if maybe my plotting was getting in the way of my characters’ emotional developments. Maybe I’m spending so much time on external conflicts, I lose track of the internal emotional conflicts.
This is a fairly common problem for plotters, I’ve heard, one I think I’ve attempted to rectify this time around, with my new MS.
But as I thought longer, I now believe maybe that isn’t my only problem. I suspect there’s another more nefarious factor at play.
If I’m not close enough—really in my story and in my characters—I feel hokey writing emotional stuff. And I think it happens to me more often than I’d like.
I could feel it as I got further and further into my current MS. As I went along, I started to feel more and more like my characters were getting increasingly formal instead of less formal with each other. They weren’t loosening up the way they should be, the way they need to, in order to make their romance believable. And I think it’s because I can feel the “other eyes” on my story.
You know, the “other eyes”—the people who are going to read my story “some day.”
Sort of like when you were making out with your boyfriend in high school and you worried the whole time that your parents were going to walk in. A constant interruption, even if it’s only a perceived one.
I spend so much time finding a fresh word or deleting adverbs or “thats” or whatever, basically editing, when I should be focusing on their feelings. On getting in touch with how they’re reacting emotionally, on what is pulling them together or tearing them apart.
So this past week, I’ve been reading through again and really trying to get in there. Really trying to find out what it is that they see in each other. And what they think is ultimately not compatible.
It’s been a rough week.
Any advice, wenches, to get in touch with your characters’ emotional development? Anything that I can do to blind my “other eyes”?
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102 comments:
I have a good friend who is dealing with this problem in her MS... She's been told by writing instructors that they can't connect with the emotions she writes.
Upon reflection she realized she, personally, has a block when it comes to feeling close to emotions. She has always coped with distance, logic and reason. She's stuggling with it, but bless her, she's tackling it!
I think it's really hard if this 'real life' method to leave it behind enters into your writing. Or! Or it's really easy because this is the one place you abandon normal coping mechanisms.
Abandon logic and reason!
Id' say free write to the point of discomfort and see which method you're using. You can't really reason your way through emotions, IMHO. You really do have to sink into it and see what you uncover.
And if you stumble on something that really works...share so I can spread the method to my friend! ;-)
Marnee, I think you hit it. I know when I first began writing there were all of these rules that other non-pubbed writers kept pounding in my head. I understand bad writing and can point it out. Now. One of the things I'm going to try and do once I'm done with my initial round of revisions is to go through Renee Ryan's layering process. She's an inspirational author but I think her layering techniques will work wonders for my MS. That way I'm paying close attention to one specific detail, like movement, or emotion.
Chance - I'm going to try some free writes. i think that might help me try to let go. It smarts because I barely have time to write "for real" let alone to write something that'll probably fall prey to the delete button.
I hope your friend figures it out too. I think sometimes just being aware is the best first step.
Renee - a layering process? Is there a website you can share? I wonder if that'd help me out. I don't have a problem with "the rules" but I think worrying about the rules over the emotional part of the story isn't helping me. LOL!!
I just read through that and I think that would help me 100%.
I'm so excited. :)
Found it! Renee Ryan's art of layering....
Man, this rocks.
http://www.rwanational.org/galleries/2009-workshop%20handouts/theartoflayering.pdf
I agree that I think this is a layering problem. I don't think the problem is that you're a plotter--because frankly that works for you and you've completed more than one manuscript with your plotting methods. (You don't fuck with a winning streak of that nature.)
But I would say that maybe--MAYBE--you send this stuff out too soon. (I know that's crazy to say because by the time any of us send this out, we're so sick of it we can't imagine holding onto it much longer.) Perhaps, though, this is a case of sending out too soon before you've had a chance for real revision--the kind where the LAYERING comes in. Also--and I don't know if this would help--but I think your core CP is also a plotter so while she's very helpful and awesome, she's not going to notice any lack of emotional layers either. I think you need to find a beta reader who is about the STORY rather than the plot, who can tell you what feels like it's missing so you can layer it in there. You need a spare reader.
I also recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Structure-Creating-Beneath-Screenwriters/dp/188495653X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1281015099&sr=8-2
(I feel like I have the opposite problem than you. My characters seem to be all emotional nimrods, but have no plot.)
I've suffered from all the rules that bombard you as your start to write. While I was aware that there are rules (and as an anarchist, I don't adhere to them anyway) I guess I wasn't aware that there are THAT many do's and don't's of writing. It seemed to overwhelm me. Now I'm just trying to get back to how to write like I write and not give a crap about those rules. I can't adhere to the rules if I can't even write.
I love this layering article. It's really interesting. I didn't know "layering" was the technical term of it, but I do this when I write. I write the original scene then I go back over it over and over again until I have it right emotionally and conversationally. I never hit that stuff on the head the first go around. Mostly because I don't know what the next sentence will be until I'm typing it.
Advice: Screw the rules. Fake it all. Write as if you were the character in the book and going through each motion yourself. Think about how the emotion would affect you (or should affect you). That doesn't mean if you cry at sappy commercials your character should cry at sappy commercials. Think about everything you've absorbed over the years. Just because I've never been shot before doesn't mean I can't describe the pain of a bullet tearing through layers of skin and tissue.
I think you do a great job with description. If the romance is feeling forced, revisit your moment that brought your characters together. The moment that should've changed it all between them. Not everyone feels sexual tension with someone the first time they meet. Sometimes all you really want to do is punch them in the eye socket.
Hellie - I think you are also right. I think I did send the last one out too fast, though I was sick of it. And both of my closest CPs are plotters. So I think you're right, that I need another reader, probably in the middle and the end. hmmmm....
And I'm sure you have plot. Stop it.
Sin - I think that's great advice--to write like you're the characters. That's what I started doing this past week. Honestly, I think that's hard as a revision. I ended up axing lots of stuff out. Takes longer, I think.
Reacquainting with their initial attraction... it's like couples counseling for a writer. :)
Marn, this is a great post. I couldn't get started writing because I was worried about all those "some day" people. It can stop me in my tracks now, too, when I'm working on revisions because I think the story is too kooky, or not big enough, or blah blah blah.
The "rules" are meant to SHAPE a story so that it is easier for the reader to follow along. It is not meant to suck the life or emotion out of the story. :) So just go balls out and write the story, with the emotion you know it's meant to have. And when it's time for the "some day" people to read it, they'll get their turn. But it's not their turn yet. :)
Hellie, I just read a blog post yesterday about your characters ARE your plot. Let me see if I can find it again. It describes way better than I can that what your characters are doing IS your plot. (Which is my roundabout way of saying, I think you do have a plot, not just emotional experiences.)
I can identify with almost everything you're saying. Wow. There are an incredible amount of similarities in why the 'romance in my romance' doesn't come through. If it's any comfort, you're not alone.
I hadn't really thought I was aware of the 'other eyes' before (maybe so), but, in my writing (also paranormal), there is always a big 'something' in the works that can distract from the romance. Especially in a paranormal, it's easy to take detours from the just between the hero and the heroine type of conflict.
After some distance, which turns out to be an appropriate word, I can see the 'distancing' characteristics of my first manuscript. For one, secondary characters' scenes that exclude the hero or heroine. What is happening adds a certain suspense, affects the hero and heroine, and it is important to the hero and heroine - - when they find out about it that is. LOL It's not romantic tension, however.
I don't think this distancing is necessarily a bad thing if it's your intent to write a paranormal or an adventure suspense with 'romantic elements' but if it's not your intent or the intent is a more even balance, then it's very disheartening. It was my 'intent' in my first that it be considered a romance first, but unless I revise the 'distancing' elements it won't be.
My intent in my current writing hasn't changed and it probably won't change. My intent is to write a romance. But cutting that distance is damn uncomfortable! LOL My only advice is all incredibly obvious things that seem silly to say but give me needed boundaries, like 'locking in' with the hero and heroine's POV (lengthening time between switching POV and no headhopping) and seriously reconsidering ANY scene without one or the other participating. And they have to be thinking about the other even when they are apart (saving the world, etc.). Yep, incredibly obvious and I can't say it right. But ultimately, when they want space - - don't give it to them. :)
Sorry so long! Ha! Saved before the captcha code rejected me. LOL
Oh no! It's a case of the crazy italics again!
Oops. Sorry about the italics.
I think I fixed it?
LOL -- I like how the italics is on the word "Says" after our names, like it's emphasizing that word, but in a mocking way.
I got it. :)
Crap.
LOL, Capt Cha is giving us italics when we don't ask for it!
Melissa, I like that part about not giving the characters space when they want it. :) That's a good point -- interacting with this other person is meant to be a slightly uncomfortable thing, because it's changing their safe world, so we want them to have to engage with them until they figure out they're meant to be together.
Glad you found the link, Marnee. And Hellie is right, you're probably sending it out too soon.
A mansucript can be technically perfect, but lack the awe factor. Speaking of, here is an AWEsome series by Donald Maass The Elements of Awe http://writerunboxed.com/2010/03/03/the-elements-of-awe/. If you haven't read it, you should. It's one of those ones deserving of ink to print out and tape to your wall.
I've come across a few ms that I've critiqued, many of the authors were disappointed and ready to throw in the towel due to rejection after rejection, and I had to tell them I wasn't feeling it(it's hard to do with a friend) and if I'm not feeling it, then most likely others aren't either. There wasn't enough of a draw. The problem with their ms- a disconnect. They were holding back and not putting the emotions onto the pages. And that isn't something anyone can really show you how to do. It's something that you must tap into within yourself. I've heard agents and editors say they want to see you in your manuscript. What is it you can bring? All sorts of things, but mainly the emotional aspect. Of course, you know this, else you wouldn't have written this blog post.
And this is where free writing comes in. I was just talking about this the other day. It gets all the crud out of the way. You can write whatever it is you want. It can be story related or it can be personal. The point is to just get it out of your system. If nothing comes to mind, then doodle. What should end up happening is instead of thinking about dirty diapers you can focus on that kiss or the hand holding.
I call it journaling or free writing but if it makes you feel better you can call it the bitch journal. And I know how pressing time is, but it does work. Okay, I'm done for now, says the one who has yet to actively submit anything. :)
*blinking* Did DONNA tell us write "balls out"?
I'm loving this Thursday.
Marn, I also loved the comparison in your blog where you're making out with your boyfriend but afraid your parents are going to walk into the room. *ROTF* I think that summarizes being outside of the emotion perfectly--how can you be in the moment of something as great as a kiss if you're worried about other things? It's like having sex but planning your grocery list as you do it. (That might be the indication of a different problem though--but there is an emotional disconnect!)
Man y'all went nuts with the posting while I was writing mine.
Okay now that I'm past the balls out thing (sorta) I want to clap for Donna for saying that rules are supposed to shape the story--but we shouldn't get obsessed about them. Damned right, sister! You tell 'em! They're supposed to be help, not a hindrance.
Here's that plot article I was talking about. It's a blog for fantasy writers, but the info is really good. So feel free to check it out (when you take a break from writing "balls out" LOL)
http://www.blackgate.com/2010/08/04/on-writing-fantasy-the-plot-thickens/
Donna, I read that somewhere too, just this week. Hmmm, where did I see that?
Sin, for people like me who don't know which layer they are on, it helps keep me a tad bit in order. And I'm with you, even though Donna's right about the rules and shaping, I say toss them overboard. Not Donna, the rules.
Renee, that Awe Article is great. It emphasizes EMOTION but revealing emotion by showing, not telling. How can you SHOW the reader that your character is falling in love with your heroine? How can you SHOW your reader that he's worried she died in the explosion? How can you SHOW the reader he thinks his world just ended?
I like the combo effect--how EMOTION is just as important as plot (or perhaps more because EMOTION is story and we read for the story) and we need to be as conscious of showing vs telling in our emotional layering as we are in the plot portions of our stories.
Donna, that's a great article. It's funny, I worry about revision from not knowing the plot, but it's really more likely my revision occurs from not knowing what the character wants. Those are much bigger revisions! LOL
Whew, Renee. Thanks for clarifying that! LOL
Hellie, so do you not like it when I say "balls out" (3rd time now! LOL) Or is it just shocking. :)
It's just shocking, but I like it. *LOL* And it makes me think of Deerhunter--he says stuff like that. It always makes me blink when he says it. *LOL* I'll drop the F-bomb like it's the conjunction "and" but the word "balls" (when not referencing sports equipment on a basketball or baseball field) tends to make me blush. And you can't have a blushing pirate. That's against the rules.
"Hellion, The Blushing Pirate".
Yep. I think we've got a good one there. LOL
Okay, and not to get all FEMINIST or anything, but why it is cool to say "balls out" to mean that we're going to "dig deep and get it done"--and it's all powerful and heroic, but we don't say stuff like "vagina out" (or the equivalent, I grant you it's not as easy to whip out vaginas as it is balls) to say we're going to "dig deep and get it done" because I don't know about you, but of the two items, the VAGINA is the one that gets it done. A vagina can push out a 8-pound baby and then go back to its original size (or thereabouts), but you so much as you so much as tap some balls too hard and the guy is out of commission for a good twenty minutes. How are you getting anything done if you're writhing around on the floor?
Also, regarding rules: I think when somebody tries something and it works, all of a sudden it's a "rule". Which is hilarious, because it was breaking ANOTHER rule at some point.
The most important rule: engage the reader's emotions.
Even if you have to shock them by saying. . .well, you know.
Well, since the man's area IS so delicate, I think it's a sign of toughness to DO something that puts them at risk.
I guess.
I mean, instead of pondering that, I really should be writing, since that's what I told myself I was going to actually do today. LOL
Well, since the man’s area IS so delicate, I think it’s a sign of toughness to DO something that puts them at risk.
That makes sense. I just wondered. It's just been brought to my attention lately that all the "masculine" terms are all great and powerful; and the "feminine" terms are something bad and weak. Makes. Me. Crazy.
Fine, fine, go off and be a good example to the rest of us and WRITE. Geez.
I agree, Hellie -- about the masculine/great and feminine/weak terminology. But it's just we don't need to BRAG about our toughness. LOL
And I haven't actually LEFT yet to write. I'm just TALKING about doing it. There are stages to this process. LOL
Awesome post, Marn, and I'm loving the links to writing articles. The layering advice is awesome. But you know what I was really thinking as I was reading it? "Geez, this is going to take FOREVER!". LOL. I tend to want revisions to go super super fast. You know, like in an afternoon. Which is absurd.
I think I had the exact same problem, of sending out my last MS too early. I did one round of revisions as soon as I finished, but going back and reading it now, six months later, it definitely needs more layering and emotion. And it's going to take for-freaking-ever, but that's okay. I'll just go...uh...vagina-out. Wait, no, that doesn't work like "balls-out" does. It just doesn't. Can we say "Testicular-equivalent-out"?
True, Donna, we don't, but you can rest assured if I ever push out an 8 pound baby from my hooha, I'm SOOOOOO bragging about it.
LOL, Hal -- we could use an acronym. Like TEO. I kinda like that!
And I am exactly like you -- I think revisions shouldn't take so long, and they DO. Which is probably why they exhaust me, and I try to figure out a way to get all that stuff done WHILE I'm writing (or in this case, avoiding writing -- LOL). It requires a lot of finesse though, which requires a lot of time.
Sigh.
And Melissa, I realized my revisions needed me to figure out more about what my CHARACTER wants, not what *I* want them to do. LOL
I tend to want revisions to go super super fast. You know, like in an afternoon. Which is absurd.
That's funny. That's totally how I'm wanting my first draft to go too and it's not! *LOL*
How about "bare breasts out"? Like Amazons. Amazons are tough--I wouldn't mind being like them, I think, though I think cutting off one of my breasts is going a bit too far. Would that be a suitable equivalent? BBO!
You might be on to something here, Hellie. I'm not gonna do any cutting though. I'm too woozy for that kind of thing.
Maybe painting a smiley face on them? That should be scary, right? LOl
Painting a smiley face. Hmm. Wouldn't that look like a Cyclops? Of course that could be scary. Look, I have a bow and arrow, AND a pair of grinning cyclops! Don't screw with me!
Yeah, no slicing off of breasts here. Besides, how tough can you look with one only one bare breast out?
Hey, don't look at me. I don't even like to cut myself shaving. I'm just saying the Amazons are cool, apart from the cutting off one breast thing. I mean, they did it so they were more accurate with their bows and arrows, but there are some limits to what I'm willing to give up to be better at anything. Like I'm not willing to give up oreos in order to be 10 pounds (20 pounds) thinner, or I'm not willing to give up my car so I can be a better runner.
They sliced off a boob to be more accurate with a bow and arrow? Holy crap. That's dedication right there. I'm with you -- I'm not that dedicated to anything.
But hey, look at the EMOTION it brought forth in us! So it ties right back into Marn's post and the writing discussion. Woo hoo!
P.S. I'm not that dedicated either.
Arrgggghhhh More italics! Sorry. off to fix...
Hellie - the parents walking in is exactly how I feel right now. lol! :)
Renee says: I’ve come across a few ms that I’ve critiqued, many of the authors were disappointed and ready to throw in the towel due to rejection after rejection, and I had to tell them I wasn’t feeling it(it’s hard to do with a friend) and if I’m not feeling it, then most likely others aren’t either. There wasn’t enough of a draw. The problem with their ms- a disconnect. They were holding back and not putting the emotions onto the pages.
This is exactly it!! I final in contests, even contests requiring synopses, so I think I have a hook. I had a few full requests on my last MS, so people are interested. But then they read it and pass. Perhaps this is it. A bit of a disconnect. Worth exploring, I think.
And thanks for the articles, guys. I need the help!! :)
There.
I like bare breasts out, though I'm opposed to shearing one off. I like my boobs, even if it means I can't shoot a bow and arrow accurately.
Speaking of, just watched Avatar for the first time this week. I didn't think I'd like it, but I did.
Hal - I know! I want revisions done immediately too! I hate hate revising. :( But I guess all those months of first draft writing are worthless without it. Darn it.
Melissa! I'm so sorry I missed your comment earlier. Ugh. My three year old is hanging on me and making my typing impossible. Parenting gets in the way of my blogging....
Especially in a paranormal, it’s easy to take detours from the just between the hero and the heroine type of conflict.
I thought this as well. I figured if I wrote something without paranormal I wouldn't have his problem. But turns out I get distracted anyway. LOL!!
My intent is to write a romance. But cutting that distance is damn uncomfortable!
Absolutely! Me too. And you're right. I don't think it's a problem if the relationship isn't central to the story. But most romance has the relationship as the most important. Writing th is damn hard though.
Just another reason why writing romance is not as easy as the "critics" say it is.
Donna - I love that plot article, PS. Thanks!!
I gots to run out for a bit, gals. Play nice while I'm gone. Be back soon.
From wikipedia (always credible, right? *LOL*)
"Among Classical Greeks, amazon was given a popular etymology as from a-mazos, "without breast", connected with an etiological tradition that Amazons had their right breast cut off or burnt out, so they would be able to use a bow more freely and throw spears without the physical limitation and obstruction;[5] there is no indication of such a practice in works of art, in which the Amazons are always represented with both breasts, although the right is frequently covered."
Wow. Wonder if the bookseller knew all that when they picked that for their name. LOL
Great blog, Marn. There's so much in your post and in the comments to think about, and the links are great.
Renee, I love the Writer Unboxed blog. They have an incredible amount of useful stuff about writing.
I'm with Hellie on plot. Even now, when TLWH is supposedly finished, I worry that the plot is weak.
And I think we have to be careful in rejecting rules not to create new rules. At some point even "Reject the rules" can become a rule. Nobody has The Answer for writers because nothing works fo every writer. I may discover some stategy that I think revolutionizes my writing process and increases the quality of my writing a hundred fold, and it may be just a waste of time for you. I think the more we write, the more strategies we try, the more we discover about what works for us. And I think even when we use the same techniques, we modify them so that they work best for us. For example, my problem is the opposite of letting a manuscript go too quickly. I'm never ready to let it go. Even when stuff is published, be it paper or blog, I cringe when I look at it and think if I'd only done one more set of revisions, I'd be less embarrassed by what is out there for the world to see.
When I think of the website, I think they picked the name because it references a jungle--and going to the website is like wandering into a jungle. Always something new to discover, always a forest of books et al to pick from (and takes a forest of trees like the Amazon to print the books they have to offer!), and I think they like to think they're "greenies"--and I think the Amazon is a word that makes you think of greenies too.
But maybe they think they're a bunch of barebreasted, cutting off body-parts to be more efficient warriors. Who am I to judge their name? *LOL*
As Marnee well knows (being one of those plotter CPs), I can suffer from the same thing. She's actually pointed it out to me (not in so many words), and I see it when other CPs complain that a scene is boring.
That scene? Boring?! Can't they see how that would make her feel?
Answer: No. No, they can't—because I didn't put it on the page. Readers may be intuitive, but they shouldn't have to read between the lines to read our characters' minds.
I really liked Maass' Writer Unboxed article (there's a part 2 and 3, as well, with exercises if I remember correctly), and I can't wait to dive into the layering handout.
As I've been working on this, I took Margie Lawson's Empowering Character Emotions class a couple months ago, and it was great for looking at how other authors portray emotion and how to get it on the page. She also recommended Brandilyn Collins's Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors ( http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Into-Character-Secrets-Novelist/dp/0471058947/ ).
(Aside: I don't know that being a plotter (specifically, planning some story events or milestones in advance) necessarily precludes you from including emotion. I'm sure a pantser can spend 500 pages wandering around a plot and not tap into their characters' emotions, too.)
Good luck, Marn!
Wow, this is what I get for sleeping in! But great comments and I hope my friend is reading this and taking notes!
Hel - How 'bout flash the tits and get on with it? It even, almost, rhymes. Like balls to the walls...
Janga - You mean I can't just say break the rules is my rule? Darn!
Sorry! I forgot the closing tag for the bolded "your."
I'm cracking up about the Amazon website comment, Hells.
Jordan - exactly. I think this isn't necessarily a "plotter" problem. I think we're just chatting today about how it can manifest in a plotter's manuscript.
Answer: No. No, they can’t—because I didn’t put it on the page. Readers may be intuitive, but they shouldn’t have to read between the lines to read our characters’ minds.
This is exactly what I'm afraid of. Even though I feel it, I'm not sure it's there for everyone else. I need to see about reconciling this....
I have Margie Lawson's EDITS system. I need to go back through, I think. And I'll check out that book too. :)
Janga - I agree that letting go of the rules can be its own rule. I don't think anyone can tell anyone the "recipe" for writing a sellable novel. We all just talk about things that worked for us. It's our job to sift through all the wreckage.
I'm all out of order on commenting today. Sorry for my all-over-the-place-ness.
I use a soundtrack to write my novels. It takes me a hours, but eventually I have the music that fits the story. It works so well that if I hear the music outside of writing time, I immediately start thinking about the book.
Sometimes though, I'm still feeling totally isolated from my characters. I've tried writing journals and letters in character points of view. I make sure I have the emotion I'm shooting for somewhere I can see to constantly remind me.
It doesn't always work, but it helps these days.
Good luck and congrats on the good rejection. I love it when editors give comments I can use!
Hi Mary Beth! :)
Sin uses music. Maybe I could attempt a soundtrack. I'm never sure what I'm doing picking music though. Do I tap into my character's mood? Or do I tap into the overall mood? Or do I just pick songs I like? I'm confused....
Thanks for the good luck. I like good comments too!
Marn - totally cracks me up that you are basically trying to rationally pick music... ;-)
Music is intuitive and whatever sparks the right emotion for what you're writing is going to help you find it when you're writing and get it down!
Could be evocotive lyrics, a certain bit of chord progression, a rising bass line, a sweep of strings...
Go with what feels right! ;-)
This is just adorable...
CAPTCHA finally got me.
Marnee, when I come to a scene that calls for intense emotion I dig deep into my memory sources. Remember what it was like to go into labor the first time? Remember the second? For me the second was much different. It was like 'hell no', I'm done, get me outta here, I ain't doing this! :) But after holding those babies for the first time WOW! I also pull on memories of pain, when someone I care for left or was hurt or died. I use the memory of those emotions in my ms. That's putting pieces of me in there. Hopefully it'll make the difference when it comes to landing an agent or getting a rejection. I guess only time will tell. And there is the fact that sometimes those emotions can be over the top and I have to pull back. It's a matter of knowing when and how much.
Something I also wanted to bring up, just because it might be the real issue. I know I've had publishing professionals make comments and I'm often left wondering what exactly it is they mean. We're kind of left to decipher their meaning without a reference book. I know it has left me wide-eyed and confused more than once, especially when they do like the story. Here is what I'm wondering, is your ms heavy enough on the romance? You can have emotion and not have a romance. If you're targeting romance, whether it is paranormal, urban fantasy, western or regency the most important element is the love story between the hero and heroine and their growth. The rest is just color.
Take Grease for instance. We identify it as a movie set in the 50s. The cars, clothes, hair and characterization gives us this color. But it's the romance that drives the story. You could take that exact story line (with or without the music) and move it around in different genres, the love story is still there. Imagine a more mature Danny as a Duke and Sandy as a shy wallflower that a few diamonds, out of boredom, decided to have fun with. Instead of cars, you have prized horses. The clothing changes, the music changes, the hair changes. The love story stays the same. You could even put them in a western or a paranormal. Danny's driving force is his feelings for Sandy and visa versa. The vampires (T-Birds) are supporting roles. They aren't the story, they just help propel it forward. Now Kenickie and Rizz have a secondary plot, but again it helps drive Danny and Sandy in forward motion.
That's probably not the best example, but since most of probably have seen it once I thought it was worth a try.
All right I'll shut up before someone throws me off the ship.
It's taken me until now to actually read the blog, clearly I have no time to catch up. And I have no advice. LOL! I'll try to catch up on the comments when I get home tonight and see if I have anything to contribute. Right now, it's not looking good.
I do know I have a pet peeve when I read about not "seeing" the couple fall in love. If they go from strangers to in love and there's no journey we all go on together, then it doesn't work for me. So I focus on that a lot. Try to find little things one character can do that alter how the other sees/feels about him/her.
Maybe if you find those tiny, thoughtless actions, you'll find the places where you can beef it up. And I apologize if I'm repeating what someone else has already said.
Mary Beth, I just blogged about music today and how it inspires me over at Romance Roundtable. With all this dang heat the natives have invaded my private sanctuary. I need to buy a new set of headphones so I can get back into the writing groove.
Anyone know anything about Faro?
Renee - Sounds like you heard the speaker at the Nationals awards banquet when she talked about the core story and how it can be told in any genre, as long as the core is there...
Hmmm, Chance, since I wasn't there maybe there was some ESP going on.
Terri, nothing drives me more nuts than I couple knowing they're going to spend the rest of their lives together after only two days. I mean, hello, that doesn't give a girl enough time to know if he leaves the toilet seat up or if he chews with his mouth open while breathing through his nose.
I totally hate the books where she hates him, she hates him, she...oh...loves him?
Like...when did this happen and how?
Fascinating that you weren't there and struck the same chord, Renee. I'm blanking on who spoke...she had three names... I suppose I could look for her name on the RWA site...but...nah.
I talked to the Bo'sun afterward, wondering what my core story was... And she smacked me upside the head, looked at me... "You're going to kick yourself, it's so obvious."
"Not to me... Save the world?" I was going for the save the cheerleader, save the world vibe...
"Everyone deserves a second chance."
The Bo'sun is a brilliant woman...
I heard that. LOL! Thanks!
I'm not so worried about knowing each other, but more what makes this guy different from the guy before. Or this girl different from the other ten in the room. If I'm to believe these two are right for each other, I need to know why and it has to be more than a physical attraction.
In my MS, the heroine really doesn't want to like the hero. And then he goes and says something that makes him look totally vulnerable and she sees him in a brand new light. It's just the start, but there has to be those moments. When she says the right thing or he does the perfect thing and perceptions shift.
That was Jayne Anne Krentz speech. Knowing your core story was one of the three things she said all writers need to figure out.
As I said, the Bo'sun is a brilliant woman. Who also has a good memory.
I seem to be writing things where the couple doesn't really fight the attraction...the struggle comes with all the issues that rise once you are a couple...the things that might pull them apart...
But I've been married for 30 years and am more about the staying together than the getting together stuff.
It was too long ago that I took part in the will-we/won't-we stuff! ;-)
“Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Clearly the motto that should go on the business cards.
Wait, wouldn't this be MY motto as well for my books?
Terri, since you're so very brilliant can you tell my my core story? LOL
Chance, my couples totally fight. In the one I'm working on right now, she even shoots him. ;) Of course, it's a case of mistaken identity. She means to apologize, really she does, but when he enters her domain (church) and hints that he'll reveal her identity as the train robber she tosses a cup of water in his face. Imagine how she feels when she finds out he saved her brother from death. She feels a fool for misbehaving, but the wretch, he shouldn't have teased her so, especially in front of the congregation.
Renee - I haven't read your work so that's a little harder to do for you. LOL! Though from what little I know, I'd have to think there's something in there about the strength of women. Your heroines I know about find themselves fighting in a man's world and usually holding their own pretty well.
Am I close? LOL!
Hellie - Yes, I think the core story comes from inside us. Mine is very much trust and healing. Two things that are central in my life experience.
Chance, don't poke fun. I can't get around my brain sometimes. :) If I have to think about it so much, it's probably not going to help me, huh?
Renee - I love your Grease reference. And I think that your comments about getting in touch with deep emotions and with focusing on my core love story are right on point with what I'm going to have to do. I think these are the things, the issues, that I need to reconnect with in this story. I think my current MS has a lot of potential. It's got a good hook. I just need to make sure it lives up to that potential. It's not going to if no one else sees what I see.
Bo'sun - I do know I have a pet peeve when I read about not “seeing” the couple fall in love. If they go from strangers to in love and there’s no journey we all go on together, then it doesn’t work for me. So I focus on that a lot.
I totally second this. It's kind of like when I go to weddings where I just don't feel like the couple's compatible. Like, they're together but for how long. Are the ties that bind them strong enough?
Another big thing to think about with emotional development.
I think my core story is that we have to accept ourselves to find true happiness.
Terri, basically it's redemption through forgiveness. My heroine must learn to forgive before she destroys herself and my hero must accept that he's been forgiven.
I love that you and Marn both use the word "acceptance". LOL! And I've never thought about accepting forgiveness.
Chance - Would that work for Ivy?! She needs to accept Helen's forgiveness??
Marn - That is more a fact of life. LOL! One few of us master, I'm afraid.
Okay, so when *I* tell you that you need to know your core story, you guys go, "Whatever." But a NYT bestselling author tells you you need to know your core story, and suddenly you're all over it like white on rice. I see how you are.
If it means anything, Hells, I believed you when you said it. :)
When have we ever said whatever? LOL!
Though I do think Chance has been reluctant to discuss this in the past. And now she's all interested. It's all Chance's fault.
Renee, it may be too general for your needs, but Ellen Micheletti (my favorite AAR reviewer since I agree with her about 90% of the time) has an article "Gambling in Historic England" that includes a brief description of Faro.
http://www.likesbooks.com/gambling.html
Janga, thank you. I'll check it out. It'll be interesting to see what the differences are, if any, between England and the American West. Besides the company. I'm sure England was much more civilized.
This is such a thoughtful blog that I just have to comment, so you know that I have read it!
If the plot is documented as a flow chart, rather like writing computer programs, or as some musicians develop ideas for symphonies, then as a plotter you presumably add mood, emotion and heat levels to the flow chart to ensure that it is properly included in the writing.
This does seem a very precise, almost mathematical way of writing romance though. Rather as one would imagine a SciFi robot writing a novel.
I have the feeling that romance is so unpredictable and un-plannable in real life that this approach may yield very stilted and unnatural results.
I would advice leaving emotions out of the flow chart except in a very minimalist way and introduce it spontaneously during the writing, to simulate real life scenarios.
Or perhaps I have totally misunderstood the problem ... often happens!
PS
Will read all the wonderful comments later when I settle with my scotch .... unless I doze off!
Ter - Nah, Ivy has to forgive herself... One of those guilt things...as if she is to blame for being held captive, raped and giving birth. Though her big guilt is running away from her captive and leaving the baby. As if she had any choice!
I never avoided the issue...save that I always avoid taking apart and trying to understand what I write. Fear of killing the magic!
I thought that was a pretty good analysis, Q!
Dang right, Q!
Any advice, wenches, to get in touch with your characters’ emotional development?
Look at them without their makeup on.
Seriously.
No, SIN I haven’t been doing shots. And no Hellion, I wasn’t bit by some nefarious poisonous snake …. So I’m not confused … which isn’t to say that you are not.
Look at your characters’ without their makeup on.
Then
Write about how they react without their makeup … IE the façade that a person shows the world.
Q, darling, we're not trying to suggest that romance writing is a paint by the numbers piece of artwork. Layering is more like...refining. You can come up with a brilliant science theory, but chances are that you don't come up with the correct theory in the first go, do you? No. You have to refine. You have to test it, add and delete things in a controlled way, until your theory is perfected and can be valued by the science community at large.
You do not want to present an untested theory on the public and have it come back with scientists shooting holes into your theory before you've had a chance to show it can work, right?
Writing is as much as science as a art. It requires refining, testing, and all those other very scientific methods. Layering is just one of those scientific methods used to make the work of art ART.
This is not to say, Q and 2nd and Renee, that one should ever mess with the magic. There is less magic in revision, but revision is necessary--and I think the core of Marn's blog and discovery is that more revision was needed.
(As Janga also points out, there is such a thing as too much revision as well, but I think revision is more than making sure your plot works and all the characters' names are spelled correctly. Which I think a lot of us do because we're anxious to send our books out right away.)
I could be wrong. Personally speaking I'm never excited to send my stuff out. I'm more in the Janga camp to keep revising.
Julie:
Reporting from the field. Well ... tecnically its a marsh ...or a bog ... or ... Eh (thats for SIN). Honestly? I have absolutely No Idea where I am at.
Who cares, right?But there is a lot of excellent food. Good booze. And a hot tub.
So
EH? (SIN Loves that word)
Who cares, right?!
I'm all for revision and filling the holes. And distance can really help with this. Put some weeks, months if you can, between a 'finish' and revision and the opportunity to see your MS mature and develop more personality is huge!
But what if I *like* my manuscript to be juvenile?
*falls to the ground and kicks her feet*
Actually, that's great advice, Chance. It's hard to follow, but it really does help you see what's missing when you get to see it like it's new.
Chance, maybe you should tackle my revisions for me. It'd give me plenty of distance. :)
The danger of letting me do revisions? I like to add aliens...or pirates...to everything! ;-)
Donna, baby...you don't have to mature if you don't want to! One of the benefits of being an adult!
I'm sorry I'm so late returning to the party. 100 comments... such a great day. And you all were an amazing help to me with your suggestions and input. :)
Q - I think you're right. I plot like that, in a graph, but I am not so "robotic" as to think I can graph out emotions through something as complex as a 85K story. I leave them to be organic. But, well, my organic method hasn't really been working. Or, more accurately, I've been neglecting it, focusing on what I know for sure and slacking on the stuff I have to "work" to reach.
I'm going to figure it out though.... I know it.
Jules - I think looking into the depths of them is exactly right. Them with no makeup. :) Or naked, per se. :) Right to the heart of it.
And Chance, hon, I'm going to refrain from asking you to do revisions. Aliens and pirates, while lovely plot devices, will not work for my story, no matter how you try to convince me. I swear.
And Q. I didn't mean to leave you out with my "girls" comment above. Girls, and Q, thanks.
Also, again, thanks girls for bearing yourselves and your thoughts to me on this. I'm going to try to dig deep.
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